Ross Ford almost drove himself over the edge in his determination to keep his Scotland place, but the hooker will be back fully refreshed and in peak condition for the first World Cup warm-up match against Ireland at Murrayfield.
The 27-year-old hooker had his season curtailed abruptly when the Scottish medical team, led by Dr James Robson, identified he was suffering from chronic over-training syndrome, which results in sportsmen of even exceptional levels of fitness finding themselves getting weaker the more work they do.Ford had effectively played three years of pro rugby without a break, with summers spent on the British Lions tour to South Africa and the Scotland trip to Argentina, while maintaining a remarkable durability from injury which meant he barely missed a match or training session.Now he’s learned his lesson and, after the first controlled pre-season almost since the last World Cup, he’s gunning to make a big impact at his second.”I never knew that’s what it was, I just knew that when I was playing and training, I was far more tired than I should have been for what I was doing. I pride myself on being fit so it was frustrating, it was getting to me, I wasn’t as sharp as I could have been or able to perform the way I wanted.”Physios detected Ford’s heart rate was a touch higher than it should have been and targeted exactly why, shutting him down for the last month of last season.”It wasn’t dramatic or dangerous, just the rate was too high for me,” he said.”Not taking time off, that’s just the way I am, I want to do all the sessions and play all the games but I’m a bit older now and I realise that I can’t just keep grinding myself, I have to say to the coaches that if I’m not feeling the greatest then I need take a break so I’m able to get myself in a position to perform.”This has given me a chance to recover and get a foundation of fitness ahead of the other boys. I’ve never really had a chance to do that, six weeks is the longest time I’ve had in a pre-season without playing a game, so it’s helped freshen me up a good bit.”More importantly, Ford now knows how to prepare himself better for the rigours of a full professional season and why he felt he underperformed in the Six Nations this spring.”Now I’m fully fresh and now I’ll be able to show what I can do, rather than like the Six Nations when I didn’t match the standards I set myself,” he continued.”In terms of diet and training nothing’s really changed, it’s about managing myself, not so much now but as the season goes on. I understand that I just can’t keep going all the time, I’m more aware now how to manage my fitness and training to get the best out of myself on the pitch.”Ford is gunning to show his best form coming into the World Cup, and to get out in a full-blooded test match again.”Everyone’s working really hard in the build-up, the fitness and the rugby sessions have been very intense. The World Cup selection is an obvious goal only 16 days away, but we need games, that’s what it’s all for, and we’re all excited to get out there and see how we cope with the Irish.”As vice-captain for this afternoon’s game and surely a certainty to go to the World Cup barring injury, Ford can’t wait for his second stab at the tournament.”Last time was my first World Cup and it was a good bit different in France. This time I’m really looking forward to going to New Zealand for the first time and tasting first hand the rugby culture and how everyone’s obsessed with the game there.